ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 18531
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| Date: | Monday 29 June 1998 |
| Time: | 10:52 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B JetRanger |
| Owner/operator: | Helicopter Services Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BLZN |
| MSN: | 314 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1968 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Wycombe Air Park, Booker, near Marlow, Buckinghamshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Wycombe Air Park, Booker (EGTB) |
| Wycombe Air Park, Booker (EGTB) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Substantially damaged when clipped the rotor blades of another Bell 206 helicopter (G-BUZZ) whilst "hover taxying" at Wycombe Air Park (Booker) near Marlow, Buckinghamshire on 29/6/1998. According to the official AAIB report into the incident:
"The pilot of G-BLZN was returning to his base helipad on completion of a public transport flight. The helipad had four "spots" marked H1, H2, H3, H4 in a straight line and separated by a distance of 11.9 metres (39 feet). The rotor diameter of each helicopter was 10.16 metres (33 feet 4 inches).
The surface wind was 300 degrees/12 knots as the pilot approached the helipad, and he saw that another company helicopter, G-BUZZ, was occupying H3 with its rotors turning. He hover taxied to H1 and turned his aircraft onto a westerly heading in preparation for landing. When stabilised, he moved to the right, landed on H2 and commenced his shut-down drills. After some five to ten seconds, he both felt and heard a thud which he initially thought was something striking the tail rotor. The pilot looked round in an attempt to identify the cause of the thud but could see nothing.
However, some seconds later, another thud was felt and the passenger informed the pilot that the rotors of the two helicopters were colliding. The pilot did not consider that this was possible but as a precaution he moved his helicopter 2 to 3 feet to the left and relanded. There were then a series of bangs and the helicopter became unstable. The pilot ordered his passenger, who was in the front seat, to evacuate the helicopter which he did successfully. The helicopter then became uncontrollable and rolled over onto its right side. The pilot closed the throttle and exited the helicopter through the left door which was now uppermost.
At the time of the accident, G-BUZZ was awaiting take-off clearance for its first flight of the day. When the ground crew had wheeled it on to H3, they had positioned it some eight feet to the left of centre. This would have allowed the rotors of both helicopters to overlap by some two feet, assuming that G-BLZN was landing on the centre of H2."
G-BLZN was later repaired and returned to service. Sold on 4 times as G-BLZN before it became G-SUET on 30/3/2011
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f4a5ed915d1371000523/dft_avsafety_pdf_502176.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BLZN
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=14833
4. https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/419023-rotary-nostalgia-thread-36.html#post6541744
Images:
RAF Waddington International Air Show, Lincolnshire, UK - 4th July 2009
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2008 11:10 | ASN archive | Added |
| 22-Nov-2012 17:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 27-Nov-2014 15:42 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2015 14:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2015 14:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Jun-2016 19:16 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Jul-2020 19:23 | Peter Clarke | Updated [Photo] |
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